RECIPE: Vegan Raw Christmas Cake

Did you forget to make your Christmas cake 6 months in advance this year? Or maybe you just want a healthier easier option for your special day celebrations. Well go no further than a vegan raw Christmas cake. Don’t be scared off by the long list of ingredients (that is just what a Christmas cake is like!). You can easily cut down the number of ingredients and this recipe will still work.

If you think about it Christmas cake is mostly dried fruit and nuts and is quite dense. So this vegan raw Christmas cake recipe adapts very well. Linseeds and coconut oil are used as the binders instead of egg and nut flour is used instead of wheat flour. It really is very easy to make…

Vegan Raw Christmas Cake Ingredients (serves 10):

Wet ingredients:

• 50g ROAR raw cacao nibs
• 50g desiccated coconut
• 100g dried figs
• 50g ROAR dried sour cherries
• 50g raisins
• 50g ROAR dried goji berries
• 50ml brandy (optional*)
• 2 oranges – juice + zest
• 2 lemons – zest only

*You can flambé the alcohol to burn it off or use 30ml vanilla extract (which contains a little alcohol) for a non-alcohol version.

Binding Ingredients:

• 50g virgin cold-pressed coconut oil (2 tbsp)
  
• 8 tbs ground linseed
• 3 tbsp ROAR chia seeds
• 1 cup water (use orange juice for added flavour)

Dry ingredients:

• 350g ROAR activated nut mix
• 150g ROAR activated pepitas

Garnish:

• 10g ROAR goji berries
• 10g desiccated coconut
• 10g ROAR raw cacao nibs

Vegan Raw Christmas Cake Method:

This recipe is actually quite flexible. As long as you adhere to the simple principles of combining dry ingredients (ground nuts and seeds) and wet ingredients (dried fruit and liquids) along with the binding ingredients (ground linseed, water and coconut oil) you can mix and match the types of dried fruits and nuts as you wish.

Put all of the wet ingredients in a bowl together to soak.

Blend the dry ingredients in a food processor until they have reached a meal consistency. Ensure you do leave some nice big chunks for added textures so don’t over blend.

Put the the dry ingredients and wet ingredients into a food processor. Combine the binding ingredients in a separate bowl first and then add to the dry and wet ingredients in the food processor. Combine everything by pulsing again ensuring leave a little texture in the mixture.

Your cake mixture should be moist and combined at this point. You may need to add a little extra water at this point but the less moisture you can get away with the less you will have to dehydrate out of it later so only do this if it isn’t combining in the food processor or look dry.

Put into the dehydrator for a minimum of 4 hours up to 24 hours (depending on the moisture content you added and how moist you want your cake). If you don’t have a dehydrator, just put your oven onto its lowest setting (usually 50°C) and wedge the door slightly open with a steel dish cloth or something. If all else fails you can just skip the dehydrating step and put into the fridge – your cake will be quite moist though.

Once the cake has finished dehydrating you will notice that some of the oil will have risen to the top. Poke some holes in the cake to let it soak back in and then smooth the hole over with a spoon.

Sprinkle over the garnishes.

Refrigerate the cake for at least half an hour before serving.

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all have a happy and healthy New Year : )